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Hume Dam photographed from above on a bright sunny day, with a small flow visible.

Attraction flow supporting native fish migration

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‘Flow hydrodynamics’, ‘turbulent kinetic energy’, ‘rheotactic behaviour’ - whilst these terms might not mean much to you, they are essential parts of native fish migration in the Murray-Darling Basin.    The Murray-Darling Basin is one of the most regulated river systems in the world, home to over 10,000 barriers preventing fish from migrating. These barriers
An aerial photograph of Lake Eildon Spillway on an overcast day.

Does cold water pollution affect native fish differently?

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Native fish in Australia are hardy, having adapted over millennia to live in one of the driest continents on Earth. However, research shows that even the hardiest of native fish species aren’t immune to the effects of human changes to natural environments. River regulation, in particular, alters aquatic ecosystems significantly, changing the natural environment and
A pair of male hands holds a carp up to the camera in this close-up shallow depth-of-field photo. The carp has its and mouth open.

What’s the go with the carp virus?

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For many of us in river and waterway management, it’s one of the most asked questions we get from family, friends and the community — “What's the go with that carp virus?” The recent flooding and subsequent explosion in carp numbers has again seen this question raised beyond just pubs and kitchen tables, to being
Male hands hold up a Murray cod on a bright sunny day with the Gwydir in the background.

Bringing Murray cod back to the Baaka

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Government agencies, local communities and First Nations representatives are exploring ways to help return the once iconic Murray cod to its former glory in the Darling-Baaka River between Bourke and Louth.  The response comes after extended drought and resulting poor water quality had a devastating effect on native fish populations across the Darling-Baaka, with sampling

Developing performance standards for fishways

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In response to the fragmentation of rivers and streams, fishways have become a popular method of mitigating the impacts of dams and weirs by helping to; facilitate fish movement and migration and create access to habitats. Habitat fragmentation poses a great risk to biodiversity, with riverine fish species particularly vulnerable to human development. Fishways, also

Preserving our threatened galaxiids

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In Australia, there is an alarming number of declining fish species that are not formally declared as threatened under national legislation, despite global freshwater fish decline. There is limited knowledge on how to best protect fish species using conservation strategies and science is still developing. In the case of threatened galaxiids, the Arthur Rylah Institute

Microplastics in Australian freshwater fish

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Microplastics are a global problem, infiltrating all levels of food systems and ecosystems. Now a multi-level governance issue, reaching across international, national and local scales, microplastics are most known for their impact on oceanic ecosystems, however, freshwater ecosystems are equally significantly impacted by plastics. Microplastics have been noticeably less researched in freshwater ecosystems compared to

Guide: Golden perch rehabilitation after a major fish kill

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Like many other important native freshwater fish species within the Murray Darling Basin, Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) were immensely impacted by the 2018-19 fish kills in the lower Darling River.  A 2021 study involving 18 researchers (by Zampatti et.al) looked into the species’ historical and current population demographics in the Darling River. The study provided guidance on how best to manage our
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